In recent years, with the development of information technology, techniques for constructing a home network within a household for centralized management and control of a plurality of devices have been attracting attention. In particular, along with increased awareness of energy issues, techniques such as a Home Energy Management System (HEMS) for installing a power management apparatus in a household to control devices have become known (for example, see JP 2010-128810 A (PTL 1)).
A power management apparatus can construct a home network with devices (such as an air-conditioner or a light) that support for example ECHONET Lite® (ECHONET Lite is a registered trademark in Japan, other countries, or both) and control supporting devices with commands prescribed by ECHONET Lite.
Users, on the other hand, can control the power management apparatus with a communication terminal, such as a smartphone, over a Local Area Network (LAN) or the like. In recent years, communication terminals such as smartphones have rapidly spread, and controlling devices supporting ECHONET Lite with a communication terminal via a power management apparatus greatly enhances user convenience.